ThisIsCommonSense.org

An anonymous wag once said: “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” How true. I get the worst of three worlds. Living in the Washington, DC area through no fault of my own, mind you I read not only about the D.C. City Council, but also about the legislatures of both Maryland and Virginia. That’s a triple whammy.

For instance, I constantly read complaints by the D.C. City Council about the dictatorial control of the city by Congress and the lack of any real representation for the people of D.C. in that Congress. But what does the Council really care about the people? They’ve routinely repealed election reforms passed by citizen initiative and are now gearing up to repeal term limits passed by 62 percent of D.C. voters.

In Maryland, the legislature has been rocked by numerous scandals with several lobbyists going to prison and politicians looking … well, corruptible. Legislators passed the usual feel-​good nonsense in response. Now lobbyists must fill out additional paperwork and cannot under any circumstances lobby a legislator from prison. Hey, that’ll help.

In Virginia, the legislature’s been even busier. There’s a bill to require school kids to recite the pledge of allegiance, unless they have a religious or philosophical excuse. We’re one big happy nation now! Another bill mandates that we can sleep only in the bedrooms of our home. My wife has complained about my napping on the couch, but I didn’t think she had that kind of pull.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

No idea was more completely overturned by the American Revolution than the so-​called “divine right of kings,” the notion that kings ruled over people by right granted from God, a right that was passed down from generation to generation. Well, looks like the concept is making a comeback.

John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, has been in the Congress since 1955. Yes, that’s 46 years. He took over the seat in a special election after his father died. His father had held the seat since 1932. So the Dingell bloodline has held the seat now for 69 years … and counting. There has been speculation that Dingell, almost 75, will step down soon, and help his wife or son the queen and the prince, if you like to snag the seat in his stead.

But in a recent speech, Dingell suggested he plans to spend pretty much the rest of eternity in Congress. Said he to President Bush: “If and when your daughters, Barbara or Jenna, are elected to Congress, I’ll be there.”

Of course, a congressman, or even the president, is certainly not a king. No matter what they may think. It’s just the family business. But somehow that doesn’t sound much better. It still implies that power is something to be gobbled up, monopolized, exploited for personal gain. That’s not what America is all about. If government is to be of, by and for the people, well, it has to first be “of the people.” Not of kings and princes.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Let’s say Bad Bart challenges you to a gunfight at the OK Corral. If you beat him you get a chance to clean up the town.

Just one problem. “You get only one bullet in your revolver,” growls bad Bart. “But I get six.” Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?

But six-​to-​one is better odds than most political challengers enjoy against congressional incumbents.

Incumbents have all sorts of extra ammo, advantages which they voted for themselves and which you pay for. Special interests know which side their bread is buttered on, so most of their cash is showered on the incumbent. Guess who passed the campaign laws that make it tough for challengers to match that fundraising? Yep. Incumbents.

Then there’s taxpayer-​funded advertising, like public service ads. Taxpayer-​funded recording studios. Taxpayer-​funded mail touting the incumbent’s latest pork barrel “accomplishment.” Taxpayer-​funded constituent service. Taxpayer-​funded travel. Even taxpayer-​funded web sites.

All this turf is jealously guarded by those in power. In 1996, the FEC wouldn’t even let CompuServe give free web sites to all candidates for office. That would be an “in-​kind” contribution prohibited under law. But taxpayer-​funded web sites for incumbents are A‑OK.

Why do incumbents stack the deck in their favor in the first place? Well, just like Bad Bart, they like to win. Fair or unfair. Now career politicians say they’re going to even the playing field with campaign finance reform. Yeah, right.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

We hire representatives to represent us. That’s their job, right?Well, these days we’re not getting the real deal. For a lot of reasons. One is that strings are being pulled from behind the scenes by folks we never voted for at all: congressional staffers.

You see, career politicians are typically absentee landlords. The dirty work of drafting legislation, even deciding its substance, falls to staffers, the so-​called “hill rats.” That can cause trouble. In one case, hill rats added a prohibition to a Justice Department budget against transferring personnel. The small reason was to save the jobs of a couple men running a small FBI office in Montana. But because of that trivial manipulation, the Justice Department was stopped from reorganizing its entire force on organized crime.

Once in a while there’s an uproar about this kind of thing, but usually the rats just get away with it. Former Congressman Mark Sanford was one legislator who worked to stem the tide of out-​of-​control staffs. Sanford, who voluntarily limited his terms in office, voted to cut committee staffs and voluntarily reduced his own office staff. But until the career politicians have an incentive to do more than just gear up for the next election, Sanford’s example will be a lonely one.

The job of representation should not one be palmed off on courts, regulatory agencies, or unelected staff. Legislators should make the laws, but too many are too busy pursuing their political careers.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

Okay, I’ll come clean. I’m no fan of taxes to begin with. I hope that doesn’t make me sound too un-​American. But as I see it, if taxes are going to be imposed, that’s a job for representatives, for legislators.

Remember that old line about “no taxation without representation”? Well, there’s a sister phrase that goes, “no taxation through judicial usurpation.” The courts are supposed to interpret the law and rule on the law, not make the law from scratch. They have no legal authority to be slapping new taxes on us. Yet more and more, that’s what is happening. For example, in Rockford, Illinois, the courts ordered more spending on schools than the voters had approved through various referendums. In New York City, courts ordered mandatory shelter for the homeless. The lawyer who brought the case was asked why he sued in court, instead of taking his case to the legislature. This guy admits, “Personally, I don’t like politics.” He says, “It’s really hard.” Yeah, it’s a lot easier to pass laws in a dictatorship. You only have to convince one guy. The examples could be multiplied.

Where are our representatives while all this is happening? Well, if they weren’t so gutless, they’d protest this kind of judicial dictatorship. But they’re so worried about getting reelected that it’s actually in their “interest” narrow political interest, anyway to let the courts make many of the tough decisions. So we’re without real representation, and we suffer, and our democracy suffers.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.